I've been lucky enough to attend the Museum Ethnographers Group conference since I first spoke there, as a callow first year PhD student in
2010. I have always found MEG to me the most wonderfully accepting bunch of
people: so despite the fact that, at this conference, I stepped down from my
role on the committee, you haven't heard the last of me yet.
This year we were lucky enough to hold the conference in the
beautiful surroundings of Quex Park, at the Powell Cotton Museum in
Birchington, Kent: thanks must go to Inbal Livne and her colleagues, notably
Abby Wise, without who's stalwart attention and organization the conference
would have been very different.
Birchington, and Quex Park, felt miles away from the strange,
seaside town of Margate in which I was staying, and which has it's own
dilapidated, faded charm. I arrived at the Park, with it's lush greenery and
craft shops, far too early on the Monday morning, but nonetheless it was a
pleasure to wander in the landscape for an hour before the other attendees
showed up. The Museum, too, was a landscape in its own right - the oldest part
of the house dates from the 1400s, and the interior of the Museum is home to
stunning natural history dioramas, put in place by Percy Powell-Cotton,
presenting the wildlife he encountered on his trips to the ends of the earth.
The conference itself began, bright and early in Gallery 1 on the
20th April. The theme was Nature and Culture in Museums, and the papers
presented on that day spoke directly to the theme. Paolo Viscardi spoke
eloquently on the importance of collaboration between ethnographers and
scientists, particularly in order to identify certain items and clarify their
heritage. Jude Philip, having come all the way from Sydney, wove a fascinating
story of the adventurous Macleay family and the oldest Natural History Museum
in Australia: the Macleay Museum. Then we broke for lunch, at which we were all
very well served, and were able to have a look around the galleries, all of
which have their own character, and all of which are fascinating. Many of us
found the newly revamped Gallery 6 particularly interesting, with its
collection of handleable artefacts and accessible information. In many ways, it
was in stark contrast to the rest of the Museum, which was of a much more old
fashioned, though unique and charming, character.
We returned, sated, to listen to Ali Clark speak as elegantly as
ever on the records and history of Gerrard and Sons, a taxdermist and art
dealer which supplied many items to the Horniman during their years of
operation. After Ali, it was my turn, and people were very kind to let me
ramble on about the reciprocal framing of nature and culture in the NaturalHistory Museum, Oxford, and its Rabelaisian, grotesque qualities. I do hope
that everyone was able to recover with afternoon tea.
Next it was the turn of Caroline Cornish and Mark Nesbitt to speak
about the Economic Botany Collections at Kew, and their environmental and
cultural importance today. Then it was time for our chair, Antonia Lovelace, to
end the presentations for the day with a thoroughly entertaining delve into the
reasons why we love animal mascots, and why museums often have them. (As
consequence of her talk, during a pause in the centre of Margate on my way
home, I attempted to win her a meerkat toy on the penny arcade machines, but
sadly I was unsuccessful).
We entered the relaxed part of the evening with a wander around
the galleries and a glass of wine. Chris Spring presented in Gallery 2 on the
exhibition, Social Fabric: African Textiles Today, which has been touring from
the British Museum and is now in Exeter. The Kanga Cloths were wonderful, and
despite being exhausted, we were enthralled.
Dinner was a bountiful and lively affair - I spoke at length with
Tony Eccles, Lisa Graves, Malika Kraamer, and many others at our table, and we
drank many bottles of wine between us. I must, at this point, mention how
grateful I was to the staff at Quex Park, who were so willing to accommodate
us, and our requirements, and did so with much spirit, grace and generosity.
After a rather trying time attempting to get a taxi back to our respective
hostelries in Margate (Birchington has little in the way of accommodation), we,
the last table standing, eventually wandered off into the Kentish night.
Once again, we arrived bright and early, me with my treasurer's
box, all ready to hand over to the next occupant of the post. The second day of
the MEG conference always includes the AGM, but aside from that, the day was a
relaxed one, with less presentations than the previous. Anita Herle and TonyEccles spoke with passion about the Blackfoot projects which are occurring
throughout a number of UK museums, and Alana Jelinek's concept of ecology as a
model for culture was a fascinating one. The Work in Progress papers which
constituted the next session were a fascinating bunch - Heather Donoghue,
Alison Petch, Claire Wintle, Catherine Harvey, Len Pole and Alison Brown
speaking on topics from Australia to Siberia. On the 21st April, from the comfort
of the Powell Cotton, we travelled the world.
The AGM was the final official event of the day, and at it we
elected new committee members to the posts of Treasurer and Membership
Secretary - Lisa Graves and Jenny Reddish respectively. I wish them all the
best in their new roles.
After I left Birchington, I wandered around Margate, taking in its
threadbare glamour and playing in the penny arcades. MEG Conferences always
leave me feeling dreamy, footloose and dog-tired - and this is why I will
always return.
Jenny Walklate
16 June 2015
